For several hours, opponents voiced their objections into the auditorium’s sound system. Shedding lanes, one said, would be an “unmitigated traffic disaster.” Not only would residents who live along the road never again be able to back out of their driveways, bicycle accidents would increase (because the new lanes would attract more riders). At one point, a city councilmember decided to hold a “voice vote” on the issue. Though several dozen shouted their support for the reconfiguration, their cries were drowned out by hundreds who bellowed their opposition.

The next day, the City of Pasadena announced that a second scheduled meeting on the issue was cancelled. And so ended the road diet of Orange Grove Boulevard.

And then there’s this from the City of Angels.

John Russo, one of Keep LA Moving’s organizers, bristles at this safety argument. “It makes me laugh when people say we’re anti-safety. You’d have to be a psychopath to be anti-safety,” he said. “We’re here to remind the city how most Angelenos use the road. Overall, we don’t think it’s a bad idea to take a step back and think long and hard about how Vision Zero is being implemented in Los Angeles…”

In addition to these kinds of grassroots efforts, UCLA’s Brozen is looking for more assertive leadership from the city’s political class. And so far, she’s not seeing it. “There’s a little bit of a void in the pro-transportation change space in L.A., and it seems like this anti-change backlash is filling that void,” she said. “There’s a lack of understanding as to why these projects are needed. Without that understanding, it gets really personal and very nasty very quickly.”

Far too often, our elected leaders listen to traffic safety deniers like Russo, and forget that some of their constituents are drivers. But all of them are people, everyone of whom use the streets in some way.

And it’s long past time we prioritized the needs and safety of people before cars, to create a safe, livable and prosperous city that benefits everyone.

I hope you’ll join me as we crash the 10 am city council meeting one week from tomorrow, and ask our elected officials to have the courage to do the right thing.

Because they already know what that is. We just have to make them to do it.

If you can’t join me on the 18th — or even if you can — feel free to send a letter demanding for safer streets for you, me and everyone else. Just email your letter by Wednesday, May 16th to ted at bikinginla dot com.

A small New Jersey town has restricted access to a number of its streets during rush hour to keep New York-bound Waze users off them. Although a better solution would be to install traffic diverters and convert the streets to bike boulevards, which would eliminate cut-through traffic while preserving local access.

International

Nice piece from Singletrack, as a writer uses elderly neighbor as an example to make the point that planners should talk about walking, bicycling and driving, rather than pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers, because each is a choice that should be an option for everyone, rather than who we are.

This is the cost of traffic violence. A Montreal mother pleads for drivers to show a little patience, be polite and take responsibility for their actions, as spokeswoman for the city’s Ride of Silence just seven months after her teenage son was killed in a collision with a U-turning driver. Needless to say, the driver wasn’t charged.

Which just leaves the Giro d’Italia as the last of the three Grand Tours employing the sexist tradition.

Along with our own Amgen Tour of California, which really should know better. Especially in the era of the #MeToo movement.

A woman belongs on a podium because she won the right to stand on it.

Not as prize for a male victor to claim.

Photo by Connor Man from Wikipedia.

………

The campaign to boycott Vista Outdoor, the parent company of Bell, Giro, Blackburn, CamelBak and Copilot, among other outdoor brands, is gaining speed.

The company, which also makes AR-15-style rifles and is one of the nation’s largest ammunition manufacturers, as well as a leading supporter of the NRA, has lost a number of retail clients across the US following the NRA’s tone-deaf response to the Parkland shooting.

No bias here. The London Daily Mail says a woman was killed while walking her dog when a cyclist “ploughed” into her during a mass ride, even though the story makes clear that she had ignored the ride marshal’s instructions not to cross.

Jim Lyle forwards the sad news that Dan Martin, a member of the popular Big Orange Cycling was hit by a motorist while riding home from a club ride on Sunday. He’s currently in the ICU suffering from a broken neck, and faces a long recovery.

Streetsblog offers suggestions on how Councilmembers Englander and Krekorian could respond to injuries to bike riders, instead of their motion to remove bike lanes — including supporting Vision Zero and reading the 2010 bike plan, which includes an unimplemented requirement to inspect and maintain bike lanes. Only two of six lawsuits recently settled by the city actually occurred on streets with any kind of bicycling facilities.

A Portland garbage company blames the victim after one of their drivers fatally left-crossed a woman riding her bike; the company said she didn’t have a front light on her bike, wasn’t wearing hi-viz, and was riding under the influence.

Caught on video: A London TV newsman uses bolt cutters to free his bicycle after someone chained a child’s bike to it, then bought a new chain to replace the one he cut. However, it’s a common bike theft technique for thieves to chain a cheap bicycle to one they want to steal, then come back for it later when there are fewer witnesses.

Despite the controversy over the last few weeks, my personal feeling is that Bray-Ali is still a better choice than the incumbent Gil Cedillo, who has proven himself to be unresponsive and out of touch with his district, and inexplicably committed to keeping the streets of CD1 dangerous.

But only you can make that choice for yourself.

So vote your conscience.

………

Before we move on, let’s pause for a quick sponsored post from my friends Jon Riddle and Sarah Amelar, authors of Where to Bike Los Angeles.

The long-discussed bike, pedestrian and equestrian bridge across the LA River in Atwater is finally nearing approval this month, despite a $16.1 million price tag. Hopefully, separate spans for horses and humans will keep the horse riders from trying to get bicyclists banned, unlike another bridge in the area.

The San Diego Union-Tribune says it’s ludicrous for city projections to call for eighteen percent of people who live within half a mile of transit station to commute by bike by 2035. Even though that’s a very limited subset of the population, and just calls for an increase of roughly one percent a year, which should be doable if the city follows through on its ambitious plans to improve infrastructure.

Sad news from the Bay Area, where a Hayward man was killed riding his bike in nearby Sunol when a pickup driver rear-ended him on a road with no shoulder; the driver played the universal Get Out of Jail Free Card by claiming the sun was in her eyes and she just didn’t see him.

A DC columnist mostly gets it, saying it’s illegal for anyone to run a red light, whether walking, riding a bicycle or driving, but that only drivers pose a significant risk to others. However, he fails to consider that Idaho bicyclists are allowed to go through a light after stopping and observing the right of way, and that riders in several other states can legally go through a light that fails to change, including here California. But good luck telling a cop that.

When an Indian woman jumped in front of a train after fighting with her parents over replacing the stolen bicycle she used to commute to college, her mother jumped in front of it to try to save her; sadly, both women were killed.

What the hell is wrong with people? An Aussie man intentionally ran a bicyclist off the road with his motorcycle, then bragged about it in a nearby café as his victim lay dying; he faces up to 25 well-deserved years behind bars after pleading guilty to manslaughter.

A while ago my wife and I helped our neighbor buy a three-wheel bike. She hadn’t ridden for decades, but now she loves it!

On a whim I sent her a link to your February 24 blog that included my submission about Todd the Volunteer. She told me she was moved to tears. In fact, she was so impressed that tonight she presented me with a plaque and a pop-up bicycle card.

The lawyer for an accused New York hit-and-run driver says a plea offer of 15 years reflects political pressure on the DA’s office. Not the fact that he’s accused of fleeing the scene after running a red light, veering into a bike lane and killing a man on his bike. Which makes 15 years sound about right.

It takes a lot to forgive the person who killed someone you love. But that’s what a New York man did when the drunk driver who took his wife’s life as she rode her bike was sentenced to up to four years in jail.

A New York woman was critically injured when she stepped out from between two parked cars and into the path of a bike rider. As we touched on yesterday, bikes don’t pose anywhere near the risk to others that cars do. But a bicycle can still do a lot of damage if you’re not careful around them. Or on them.

Evidently, New Zealand is no better at keeping dangerous drivers off the roads than we are. A driver with five major traffic convictions in the last ten years was convicted of critically injuring a bike rider — and still got off with community service and a lousy 10-month suspended license.

Sometimes the dangers we face don’t come from careless drivers, but from our own bodies.

That was the case last month, when the owner of the Toyota of Whittier dealership died of an apparent heart attack while riding on the Greenway Trail. Curt James was just 53 when he succumbed on October 21st, while riding the bicycle he had purchased in July.

His death serves as a tragic reminder that while bicycling may be good for your health, you should always talk to your doctor before changing your riding habits or beginning any new physical activity.

His death is the 68th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 28th in Los Angeles County; at least four of those deaths have been due to natural causes.

Outside Magazine sounds the death knell for the local bike shop, as they face increased competition from direct-to-consumer sales by bike makers. Although online dealers can’t set up your bike for you, and won’t be there for you when you need help down the road.

A Florida newspaper gets it, saying the death of a young cyclist should be a wakeup call for a community that too often gets caught up in debates over bike lanes, and misses the point that better-designed roads are safer for everyone. Actually, any traffic death, anywhere, should be a wakeup call, but seldom is.

Apparently, if you want to avoid jail time for a fatal hit-and-run, you just have to be old. An 89-year old Florida man got one year of house arrest for fleeing the scene after killing a man riding a bicycle; on the other hand, he won’t be able to legally drive again until he’s 99.

So who wants to help take it up to sign up now or renew your membership to take it up to at least 15 today? You’ll help give bike riders a real voice in the LA area, and get some great LACBC gear in the process.

………

A town hall meeting will be held on Wednesday to discuss the much-needed road diet on 6th Street between La Brea and Fairfax.

As someone who used to regularly ride that stretch of road when I lived on the Westside, I can attest that it can be pretty intense, whether you’re on two wheels or four. Especially at night, when traffic lets up and drivers feel free to haul ass without regard for who or what may be in their way.

West Hollywood is celebrating bike month on Thursday, with a Bike to Work Day hub near Santa Monica Blvd and Hancock Avenue; some WeHo restaurants will offer a 10% discount to bicyclists through May 28th, though details are lacking.

“Police contacted four subjects in a vehicle in the 10 block of W. Colton Avenue and made several arrests for warrants and probation violations. Officers located a Giant road bicycle inside their car, and no one in the car claimed ownership of the bike. If you recently had a Giant road bike stolen, please contact the Redlands Police Department at [email protected].”

………

Maybe he should ride the wrong bike more often. A former Slovenian ski jumper wins the Giro time trial after his bike is disqualified, and he’s forced ride a backup bike with the saddle set too low, and no water bottle or computer.

Paul Koretz tells UCLA’s Daily Bruin he wants Westwood Blvd removed from the Mobility Plan before studies of alternate routes are complete, because he may not be on the council when they are finished. So basically, he wants to impose his bad decisions on whoever is elected to replace him.

LADOT’s Seleta Reynolds talks transportation in DTLA, assuring drivers there’s no war on cars, even if she does want to discuss making some Downtown streets car-free.

A Santa Rosa woman clearly doesn’t get that bicyclists are allowed on the road, bike lane or not, and allowed to ride in the middle of the traffic lane. The solution to the “dangerous” conditions she describes is to drive safely, not for bikes to get the hell off the road.

This is why you don’t want to chase after bike thieves; a Fresno man was stabbed trying to get his bike back. That was just days after a Fresno bike rider was stabbed to death as he rode past a bus stop.

A British man is convicted in the road rage stabbing of a prominent bike advocate following a traffic collision; the National Health Service admits they got things wrong in managing the killer’s paranoid schizophrenia, even though he was not psychotic at the time. His actions might tend to argue otherwise.

If we can’t get 100 new members this month, let’s at least get one a day for the rest of the month, starting today. So if you’re not a member yet, take a few minutes to sign up now. Or if you’re already a member, use this opportunity to renew your membership today.

It’s worth it just to get some new LACBC gear. And make a real difference on our streets.

Next up, a careless San Francisco cop pulls out from the curb, apparently without checking his blind spot, and nails a bicyclist riding in the very obvious bike lane.

And an off-duty Charleston SC cop grabs a man’s backpack, throws him off his bike and tries to punch him following a wrong-way collision; the officer is now on well-deserved administrative leave without pay pending an internal investigation.

As expected, the LA City Council voted 11 – 1 to send plans to provide separate but unequal alternatives to bike lanes on Westwood Blvd and Central Ave back to the Planning Commission. The best way to ensure the failure of any bikeway is to insist on putting it someplace where bicyclists don’t want to go.

The Army Corps of Engineers is removing flood control barriers that closed a large portion of the LA River bike path; once the barriers are removed from each section, LADOT has to evaluate the condition of the path before it can be reopened.

A project to improve traffic flow onto the 110 Freeway in San Pedro is finished, including new bike lanes and sidewalks on John S. Gibson Blvd.

The Federal Highway Administration finally gets around to throwing out eleven rules that prevented cities from building bikeable, walkable streets.

A moving piece on Facebook, as an Arizona cyclist comes face-to-face with the driver who nearly killed him two and a half years earlier. And surprises himself by forgiving him.

Another way bikes are good for business. Bike sales may be down nationwide, but not in my bike-friendly hometown. Evidently, making the city safe and inviting for bike riders actually encourages people to buy more bicycles.

A London hospital fights plans for a proposed floating bus stop next to a bike lane, fearing patients will get run down by bike riders. Better to let the cyclists get run down by cars, thus creating more business for the hospital.

As we mentioned last week, Bike SGV will be bringing the Cycling Without Age program to the El Monte Senior Center on the 15th to let older people enjoy the thrill of bicycling once more on specially modified rickshaws — often for the first time in years.

Treehugger explores whether cars are the most socialized form of transportation. Despite what many drivers would say about freeloading cyclists who don’t pay gas/road taxes, the answer is a resounding yes.

Word has it bike riding former UCLA and NBA star Bill Walton is particularly stoked about the San Diego start.

………

Our anonymous Orange County correspondent reports the Stephany DUI murder trial went to the jury today, but no word on whether they reached a verdict; if not, deliberations will resume next week.

She adds,

In closing, Stephany’s lawyer was adamant and clearly believed his own words, but his argument just wasn’t very compelling. Plus I think Juror #11 wanted to smack him.

………

She also offers a few uncensored thought on the state of bicycling in Santa Ana.

Civic Center Drive has fresh new stripes for, I suppose, a buffered bike lane. The “buffer” is skinny and there are no bike graphics yet, and the placement of the dashed lines is so random I don’t even know if it can possibly conform to the MUTCD.

Also, a fucktard swooping into the semicircular driveway in front of the courthouse and CUT ME OFF and when I yelped, he was all, “What? I didn’t hit you!” Well, true, and the ONLY reason he didn’t hit me while he was failing to yield, failing to signal, and failing to make a proper right turn from the correct lane position is because I have three separate braking mechanisms, all of which I immediately engaged so that his criminal maneuver wouldn’t put me on a goddamn gurney. Maybe all the new visual clutter induced vertigo in his head?

During the 2-hour lunch recess, I rode around and despaired at the wobbly sharrowed path on 3rd Street. And the complete absence of sharrows on, say, narrow-laned Broadway, or anyplace they’d actually be useful on. And the insufficient bike racks. (Ya wanna rack in front of, or at least anywhere near, City Hall? Well, TOO BAD FOR YOU, PAL).

It’s like Santa Ana is just slapping bike & ped infrastructure down wherever it happens to fit, whether it will be functional or not. Kinda like the way God slapped together the platypus from leftover spare parts He had lying around, except that critter works just fine, whereas the hodgepodge of bike stuff in Santa Ana is nothing but frustration.

LADOT Bike Blog looks at the Mobility Hubs planned for the LA Area, with 13 primary hubs at major transit stations in Hollywood, DTLA and Long Beach, and 85 satellite in the same areas. Now what we need are safe routes to ride to and from those hubs.

Turns out using hands-free devices is even more distracting than we thought; it takes as long as 27 seconds for a driver to turn his concentration back to the road after sending a text using voice commands.

An Ontario writer argues against allowing cyclists to ride abreast, citing studies showing cyclists are more aggressive in groups. Note to the clueless: human beings are more aggressive in groups, whether they’re riding bikes, driving cars, or watching a football game. And it’s still possible to ride in a group without riding abreast.

A New Zealand professor says lower speed limits won’t solve everything, but they will improve safety, while also increasing livability and encouraging people to walk and bike. Lets hope our local officials are listening.

Finally…

For all you doubters out there, here’s proof Lance didn’t have to dope to win races; he admitted under oath that he won a $1 million bonus after the Coors Light team was paid off to let him win in 1993. This is not what Twitter is for, as a Florida driver tweets that he just killed a man after hitting a 16-year old pedestrian — complete with a photo of the body.